Comments on: Four Steps to Perfect Boysenberries

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 01:16:06 +0000

Look for dried flower buds or berries. Those are the florocances.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 01:14:46 +0000

5 ft is probably better as it will give more room for branches to spread. Less shading by other branches means more sunlight reaches the plant.

By: Caroline Ferreri

Caroline Ferreri — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:55:04 +0000

In looking at your diagrams, it looks like you can space the vines 3 ft apart or 5 ft apart…is one better than the other? We just got 5 vines and are going to put them in pots until we figure out where to plant, and how far apart. Thanks

By: Gloria

Gloria — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:29:30 +0000

Okay, so I bought some thornless boysenberries last spring and planted them and they bore a lot more fruit than I was expecting. They flourished in the spot we put them…they absolutely love the dryer vent! That said I have been evil and haven’t paid any attention to them since. They need to be pruned I am sure as they are all over the place, but at this point how do I tell the primocane from floracane? Is it too late to prune them? Should I just wait and prune them at the end of the next cycle? Thanks for any advice you can give. Oh, and I live in Los Angeles County to give you an idea of my weather.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:16:59 +0000

Hi Cynthia,

I live in California, so I’m no expert on growing crops in the midwest. That said, it looks like boysenberries are tough to grow in Illinois: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/gardening/boysenberry.shtml

By: igardendaily

igardendaily — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:43:28 +0000

Hi, I just planted a thornless boysenberry today! Afterwards, I came inside to check and see if I did anything wrong…thanks for your great post. I think I have done everything correctly but I love how you are growing yours on a trellis. I put mine slightly in front of a fence so it could have it as some support and protection against wind. Your’s is very attractive, more so than along the fence!

By: Cyntia Wood

Cyntia Wood — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 06:33:38 +0000

Can Boysenberries be grown successfully in Centrel Illinois?

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:18:58 +0000

Hi Doug,

I am by no means an expert but, our Boysenberries like the following:

1. Heat
2. Rich Soil that drains well
3. Deep watering
4. Foliar Fertilizer
5. Annual Pruning

To address your specific concerns I would suggest the following:

1. Excavate the soil down around the roots and replace soil with a mixture of soil and compost. Boysenberry roots are pretty invasive so you probably won’t hurt the plant if you cut into the roots a bit.

2. Make “wells” around each plant to capture the water and ensure that it drains deep into the root zone. It the water does not drain quickly, you may need to dig down into the soil (as noted above) to allow better water penetration.

3. Find a good foliar fertilizer that can be sprayed directly onto the leaves of the plants. We like a product called Eleanor’s VF-11. http://www.vf-11plantfood.com/ Funny thing, I just checked out their site to make sure that the link was working and noticed that they are using my kids’ fertilizing video on their home page. Cool. Guess I’d better talk to Eleanor about getting some free product in exchange!

By: doug

doug — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:34:17 +0000

Hello I have many boysenberry plants and I have a good amount of fruit but the fruit is small. And the plants dont have much follage. I would like to find out if I need to add more nutrients or if I need more watering. Or both. What is a good fertaliser for these plants. Thank you doug

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:34:20 +0000

From my research, it looks like the biggest problem with transplanted boysenberries is planting TOO DEEP.

I suspect that is the problem with one of my plants as well. If you look in the photo above, the berry plant in front of my daughter is large and healthy. There is a second boysenberry planted behind her on the other side of the trellis. It has always struggled. I divided the original plant given to us into two plants. Originally, I thought that I may have damaged the smaller plant when I divided them. Now, I think I planted it too deep. In the fall, when the plant goes dormant, I’m going to did it up and replant it higher. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Boysenberries also like good drainage. If your soil is very clayey and doesn’t drain well, that may also be contributing to their poor condition. If they are planted in soil that drains well, you can water daily during the hot season. I do.